(a) It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to make any obscene or indecent exposure of his or her person, or to make any lewd, obscene, or indecent sexual proposal in the District of Columbia under penalty of not more than $300 fine, or imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both, for each and every such offense.

(b) Any person or persons who shall commit an offense described in subsection (a) of this section, knowing he or she or they are in the presence of a child under the age of 16 years, shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or fined in an amount not to exceed $1,000, or both, for each and every such offense.

I've had this issue 2x now. I walk to the NY/Florida/Galludet metro from near NE and I've encountered a young African American male, (late 20s, maybe early 30s) who does this. At the time he wore baggy jeans and a black hoodie with bright yellow trim.

The 1st time it happened I wasn't sure if I saw what I thought I saw, and there were ppl ahead of me on the street so I didn't feel threatened. The 2nd time it happened it was just me on the street. I walked away as fast as possible and didn't call the police til later.

If it happens you should call 911 immediately. Always have your mace/pepper spray out too.

Jeeze, you guys really are 12.It's all fun and games until it happens to you, or your wife/girlfriend/sister/mother, or daughter. Then it's just really really gross. Plus, those guys do occasionally get physical. I know of women who have been physically attacked and injured in situations that started this way. So, maybe it's not a great idea to just brush off the guy's behavior as a joke.

This happened to my wife once. She contacted the policy. The man was finally apprehended and served jail time. As intimidating as this is, the fact that she could ID the perp (perv?) was what led to his arrest.

Seriously? A guy did jail time for wanking it in public in D.C.? Please to be giving us the case number. The future of my leisure activity planning efforts hinges upon the validation of your audacious yet troubling claim.

Thirty-six-year-old Ana Catarina Bezerra Silvares ...has a condition known as “compulsion orgasmic,” caused by a chemical alteration in her brain's cortex, which leads her to need to masturbate to relieve pain.

She needs to take medication that reduces her need to masturbate to only 18 times a day. Eighteen times!

Now she will be allowed to masturbate at work for 15 minutes every two hours and will also be allowed to surf porn at work.

This might have happened to me a couple months ago on I. At the time I thought the guy was just taking a piss (he was faced toward a car but turned around as I passed, all sheepish). Looking back I guess there was no reason for him to turn before putting it away unless he wanted to be seen.

I think this used to be more common, guys not necessarily masturbating but exposing themselves. I remember my Mom warning me about it back in the day, advising that it's best not to act shocked and to just roll your eyes "big wow" style.

Anyone who masturbates in public or exposes him or herself is one step away from outright sexual assault. The statistics out there are shocking and scary.

A good example is voyeurism. Most voyeurs engage in at least one other sexually deviant behaviour, usually exhibitionism or non-consensual sexual touching or rubbing. There is also evidence that voyeurism occurs at an early stage along a continuum of sexual disorders that may become progressively more coercive and invasive. Approximately 20% of voyeurs have committed sexual assault or rape.

Another characteristic of this kind of sexual paraphilia is a high frequency of deviant acts per individual. For example, in one study of 411 men, 13% (62 men) admitted to being voyeurs and self-reported 29,090 voyeuristic acts against 26,648 victims. Exhibitionism and Frotteurism are no different.

These offenders justify their behavior, convincing themselves that their actions do not cause any harm (much like you people are doing!). They also tell themselves that the victim actually wanted it (again, you're comments are literally ASKING for this...seriously, people?!). These sexual deviants have little empathy for the victim and are guaranteed to offend again.

That anyone would find this funny or unimportant is disturbing. Grow the heck up and open your freakin eyes.